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CNN’s great new pilot program “Girl Rising” featured several stories of young girls who yearn to obtain an education and get out of poverty. They live in different countries and fight everyday to overcome impossible odds to realize their dreams. This is a cry for help. I consider them all beautiful, harmless, and “global pawns who are Queens in the making.” For these millions of girls, life is brutally hard and extremely painful and difficult. I have to ask what sins have they committed to live in such unspeakable living conditions, relentless abuse, and shamed for just being born female? I cannot put my head around this.

“Girl Rising” has helped me to put things in perspective. This documentary represents the reality that their stolen innocence is the catalyst which sparks their innate sense to become more than they are today. Their silent resiliency in most cases only reveals to the world they dare to have a dream even if those dreams live in a make believe world in their heads. The point is these girls live in constant fear, struggle each day to survive, and cry each night for someone to save them and help them get out of their miserable situation. But they still dare to dream. Whom can they turn to when they live in such poverty, illness and degradation?

As analogous to a pawn piece in a chess set, global pawns may be perceived as weak females, dumb and not worth much, but they possess an incredible unspoken power of inner strength and resiliency, which lies within their very own ability to promote themselves to a Queen status in life or business, if they dream hard enough. Through obtaining an education, these girls will embark on a new path of independence, confidence, hope and inspiration. They in turn pave the way for others to follow in their victorious foot steps.

My message is loud and clear. The importance and value of girls obtaining an education and empowering themselves through knowledge and wisdom regardless of their obstacles and opponents in life is what all women in the world need to support! What is happening to these little girls on a daily basis is a world crisis. Yet, there is strength in numbers and we should no longer close our eyes and ears to this devastating way of life for these girls. They silently scream for help and I am listening! I am raising both hands to support education for all girls in every corner of the world. So, what can we do? Let’s start by supporting and partnering with global organizations which advocate and support these efforts such as Raise Your Hand Now, the Bisila Bokoko African Library Project, and UN Women. “Think, plan, react…be the SHESS player, not the chess piece… from Global Pawn to Queen!”

Ever wonder what it is about chess that men love or why men play it more than women? Statistically, there are only three percent of women competing professionally in chess worldwide. This is an extremely low percentage. Women are missing out on the great rewards, benefits, and skills inherent in this fascinating game. Skills such as focus, memorization, pattern recognition, analytical reasoning, critical and logical thinking, as well as anticipating your opponent’s next move are but a few.

One reason there are so few women playing chess in the world is because historically society has dominated the perception that chess is a man’s game. Thus, most women shy away from chess and have bought into this old fashion thinking and perceive chess as being too difficult, boring and time consuming. The good news is there is hope for every woman to get inspired to learn chess, empower themselves to become better thinkers, strategists, analyzers, and become more confident in their abilities.

“SHESS” offers a new solution for women of all ages and backgrounds to utilize chess as a catalyst to set and accomplish their goals in life and business development. It is not about winning or losing a game, but rather how you play your game. For instance, “SHESS” is a play on two words “she” for female and “chess” for the game. It represents “your game of life” and all of the circumstances which occur in your life and/or business are considered your battlefield.

The creative metaphor “from Pawn to Queen” represents the pawn piece in the chess set which is the weakest piece but has a special move to be promoted to a Queen, which is the strongest piece in the set. With that being said, in life, every female born into the world is considered a “pawn in life” and only she can promote herself to a Queen status in life or in business. A “pawn in life” means you are an extraordinary woman who has unbelievable capabilities, but only you can invest in and promote yourself to something more than you are today. So, sharpen your intellectual weaponry by learning to play chess, transfer those cognitive skills into real life activities and business development and begin your SHESS journey to make strategic moves from pawn to Queen. As a result, you will make better decisions and solve your problems with more focus and logical clarity.